'Final Fantasy XV' Doesn't Need To Sell 10 Million Units, Tabata Just Really Wants To

In widely circulated reports, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata was reputed to have stated that 10 million units would need to be sold in order to recoup Square Enix ’s massive investment in the game’s development.

In response to these reports, Square Enix has retracted Tabata’s statement and issued a clarification. The statement reads:

“We’d like to make a comment on the news reports that state Hajime Tabata, Director of FINAL FANTASY XV, commented that FINAL FANTASY XV needed to sell 10 million copies to recoup the investment at the press conference held yesterday in LA.

“We believe there was a communication problem during the conference. In fact, Tabata was referencing 10 million copies only as a high goal which the development team set to realize their ambition to make the ultimate FINAL FANTASY game. And the comment was never meant to be referred as a recoup line of the investment.”

While Square Enix has apparently been throwing money down the ravenous gullet of Final Fantasy XV ’s development for the past ten years, 10 million units sold would certainly be a feather in their hat. Final Fantasy VII , the classic game that launched a thousand forum signatures , has sold 11 million units in its entire lifetime, including re-releases up until the remake . For Final Fantasy XV to achieve such a feat would indicate the founding of a modern classic well worth 10 years in the making.

Will Tabata’s diligent team make their 10 million unit goal for Final Fantasy XV? Will they need a PC release in order to do it? Can an anime, a movie, beautiful Collector’s Editions and a custom-made Audi car help propel Final Fantasy XV to series heights and restore some of the series’ lost shine? Feel free to discuss Square Enix’s correction of Tabata’s statement in our comments section below.